The Israeli policy in the occupied territories is undermining the custody of the Holy Land and its Christian churches.

By Stuart Littlewood

I have nothing but admiration for the work of Catholic priests in the Holy Land. Unlike church life in the leafy suburbs of England, theirs is a dangerous job in a perpetual war zone, a world where religion and international politics collide.

With great skill and dedication they hold together the Christian communities in towns and villages that suffer greatly under Israeli occupation and where Catholic schools teach Muslim as well as Christian children. These courageous men are routinely abused and subjected to humiliating searches, and some have been shot at. Let's not forget the nuns in the front line either, surely some of the most remarkable women on the planet.